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I woke up at 7AM. I got up but the floorboards were very creaky! I put the heater on as it was cold. The alarm went off at 7:30AM and Renée slowly woke up. Outside it was a cloudy but calm start. The forecast was for the sun to come out mid morning. I got my bag ready as Renée got up.
We went to breakfast at 8:05AM. It was a tasty mix of cooked and continental food. The freshly baked croissant was the highlight. We returned to the room at 8:30AM to rest and digest while waiting for the 10:15 boat.
We left at 9:30AM. By this point the cloud was breaking up and the sun was poking through. We looked at some shops on the way but I was keen to get there early and make sure we got on the boat OK. Once at the pier we bought return boat tickets to St. Martin's at 9:45AM. The boat was due to depart at 10:15AM. We were directed to steps number 2 and a boat called 'Surprise'. The 4:30 return boat looked good to us. I noticed a Red admiral butterfly basking as the sun came out and Sparrows patrolling the decking. We boarded the Surprise at 9:55AM and waited in the warm sunshine. The boat filled up completely full by the time we set off at 10:15AM. It was a nice ride with great views of the Western side of St. Mary's and of Tresco as we passed by and St. Martin's as we approached. We arrived at the Upper Town Quay at 10:40AM. We noted that the 14:30 boat was to return from this quay and the 16:30 boat was to depart from the Lower Town quay. So we planned to explore the Eastern side of the island first before walking Westwards along the main beach.
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| Arriving at the pier for the boat to St. Martin's. | Our boat today, The Surprise. | An incoming Skybus. | A Red Admiral butterfly basking on the side of the pier building as the sun comes out. | Sparrows patrolling the pier. | |
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| Renée and I on the boat. | Nice cloudscape over St. Mary's Pool. | Getting ready to sail. | |||
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| Getting ready to sail. | Leaving Hugh Town behind. | Looking at the Peninnis Head boulders as we pass them. | |||
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| Looking at the coast of St. Mary's and the transmitter on the North side that serves the whole of the Isles of Scilly. | To the North Round Island and it's prominent light house can be seen. | Renée enjoying the boat ride. | Shags / Cormorants flying low and fast past the boat. | |
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| One of many small rocky islands in the sea between St. Mary's and St. Martin's. | A Shag bobbing about in the water. | Approaching Higher Town Quay. | ||
We soon had a gorgeous wander Eastwards along the beach of Higher Town Bay. With the sound of the waves and sunshine it was utter paradise. At the far end we made our way up and over the the dunes to the main track.
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| Leaving the Surprise behind and setting off to explore Eastern St. Martin's. | Higher Town Bay was gorgeous. | |||||
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| A flock of Oystercatchers on the beach. | A view of Renée on Higher Town Bay from the top of the sand dune. | The Oystercatchers in flight as we were unable to get past the flock without disturbing them. They soon settled behind us back on the beach again. | Shells on the beach. | There was a lot of seaweed washed up by Storm Callum. | A Meadow Pipit foraging amongst the seaweed. |
We then made our way up and over the hill and down the other side to the Eastern end of Bread & Cheese Cove. We then walked Westwards along the track past Burnt Hill. Along the way we found a nice bench to pause and enjoy the epic scenery. At Bull's Porth by a cove a track led back Southwards that took us back over the central ridge then into Higher Town.
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| Climbing up onto a track at the Eastern end of the beach. | English Island Point was an excellent scenic point, both by the sea and on top of a small hill. Thanks to the fellow walkers for not minding me taking these pictures. | The Daymark was a prominant landmark to the Northeast. | A Small Copper butterfly basking in the sunshine on the bracken. | |
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| Looking back at English Island Point as we head away inland to the North. | A Song Thrush. | Looking down at Perpitch and Brandy Point to the East. | Continuing North-Northeast along the track. The Daymark is still prominant to the Northeast and Gorse is still flowering here. | The Eastern Isles to the Southeast. Great Ganilly is the biggest one. | |
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| Finding our way over the Heathland on the ridge towards the other side. | Looking along the North Coast. In front is a steep drop off to Bread and Cheese Cove. | After a brief backtrack we found an easy path down to the Eastern corner of Bread and Cheese Cove. The coastal path Westwards was clear from here. | ||
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| From a small hill three quarters of the way along Bread and Cheese cove the views were fantastic. To the East the Daymark was visible again. To the West the path continued over Burnt Hill and beyond. | A Male Stonechat eyeing us from an electric fence post. | Stopping at a bench to soak in the fresh air and views between Burnt Hill and the Bread and Cheese Cove viewpoint hill. | |||
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| Female Stonechat bird, Small Copper butterfly and Ruby Tiger caterpillar. | Murr Rock and Great Merrick Ledge off the North Coast. | ||||
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| Past Burnt Hill, looking West towards Bull's Porth and Turfy Hill. | A wide view at the centre of Bull's Porth, where we reach the path back to Higher Town. | Looking at the snoozing Oystercatchers on the rocks nearby. | Looking West past Turfy Point to Great Merrick Ledge. | |
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| The path up from Bull's Porth went through some prickly gorse patches which Renée felt through her thin trousers! | Up top the path followed drystone walls towards Higher Town. | Big cow (or bull?). | The South Coast was visible again, with the Eastern Isles featuring in the background. | Heading into Higher Town. | Speckled Wood butterfly. |
In Higher Town we explored a bit. The tea room was closed so we backtracked to the Island Bakery. At 12:20PM we bought chocolate and cola cake slices and lemonade, and sat outside to eat them in the sunshine. Renée didn't like the lemonade much (I did and drank both cups). The cake was delicious. The Sparrows here were very tame and I tried putting some cake crumbs on my hand and held it up. The Sparrows soon flew in, landed on my hand and ate the crumbs quite happily. That was entertaining.
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| Walking into Higher Town. | Higher Town flora. | Looking around the centre of Higher Town near The Island Bakery. | |||
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| Looking down at English Island Point and Higher Town pier from the Western end of Higher Town. | The we back tracked up the hill to the bakery. | A flock of Sparrows of the bakery roof. | Soon after buying cola cake we discovered how tame the Sparrows are! | ||
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| We had great fun feeding cake crumbs to the Sparrows. | |||||
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| We had great fun feeding cake crumbs to the Sparrows. | |||||
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| I thought Sparrows perched all over the bakery sign was quite apt. |
We left the bakery at 12:35PM and carried on down the hill. We headed back to the Higher Town Quay for a loo break and then walked round to the Old Quay
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| Heading downhill from Higher Town. | Panorama of Tresco from just above the Higher Town Quay. | A Madder Pearl moth on the wall of the loo block. | Walking down to the old quay. St. Mary's (with the mast) and Tresco seen in the backgrounds. | |
From the Old Quay we descended to the beach and then followed the coast Westwards. At first it was very rocky but the tide was receding and exposing sandier patches that allowed us easier access. Once past the bulk of the rocks we took our shoes and socks off and walked barefoot on the sand. It was a bit cold but we couldn't resist. We even paddled too. At one point on a sandier stretch we paused on some seat shaped rocks and took pictures and enjoyed the amazing scenery. We reached Lawrence's Brow and cleared the rocks at 1:15PM. So we took our shoes and socks off and started to walk along the main big beach towards Lower Town. This was a really pleasant barefoot stroll on fine glittery white sand. We dipped our feet in the cold sea a few times before retreating to warmer drier sand as our feet got cold. At one point we passed a large flock of Oystercatchers. Eventually we reached The Porth, a rocky outcrop at the Western end of the beach. Round the corner from there was the Lower Town Quay which we reached at 1:45PM. Again we sat on the rocks after a paddle and enjoyed the scenery and the sound of the waves some more, and let the sun dry and warm our feet a bit.
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| The beach ahead as seen from the old quay. | Beach seaweed and waves. In the background is St. Mary's, Guther's Island, Broad Ledge, Tresco. Samson can be seen behind Tresco. | Rocky beach with trees holding up the soil behind. | More of those cool spiky plants with the red cored flowers. | |
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| Nice view as we clear the worst of the rocks. | One of the coolest shaped rocks on the island. | Rock Pipits. The same bird appears twice in the panorama as it moved across the shots. | ||
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| Another flock of Oystercatchers. | More Rock Pipits. | We decided to stop at these sculpted dome shaped rocks. | |||
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| Selfie fun at the dome rocks. | Looking back the way we came. Our footsteps are the only ones on the beach. | The last patch of boulders before we reach the long sandy stretch that leads us to Lower Town. | Taking another look at how the tree roots are holding the soil up against erosion. | ||
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| Once past the last boulders we took our shoes off and walked barefoot the rest of the way. | Going for a paddle. That water was cold and full of Storm Callum's seaweed. | |||||
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| Footprints in the sand. | Panoramas of the Western portion of Lawrence's Bay, or Neck of the Pool. | The Porth, the Southwest corner of the island. Here the beach continues North to the Lower Town quay. | |
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| Having a paddle in clearer seaweed free water between The Porth and Lower Town. I had to capture Renée's reaction to the cold water. | Relaxing on some small rocks just South of the Lower Town quay. | |||
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| Sand glittering in the sunshine on my feet. | Renée sitting on the side of the quay. We brushed the sand off our feet here and put our socks and shoes on. | The view South towards The Porth from the quay. |
At 2PM we sat on the quay ramp and removed as much sand from our feet as we could and put our socks and shoes back on. Then we had a wander into Lower Town. We briefly took a look at the Karma hotel and restaurant. We were tempted to have some drinks and snacks but it was very expensive. So we moved on.
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| Walking into Lower Town. | A nice seating area outside Karma Spa Hotel. | Nice purple flowers too. | Karma Spa Hotel. | Nice ship model inside. | |
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| More subtropical plants that make us feel anywhere but the UK. | The tamest Collared Dove I have ever seen, which is unsurprising in the Isles of Scilly now. | |||
Just up the hill was the Seven Stones Inn which seemed rather nice. We went in and bought a Baileys and a Disarrono and Coke. The ceiling had lots of branches and lights which was weird but nice. We took our drinks outside and sat in the warm sunshine enjoying the spectacular view from the benches. The Sparrows here were also very tame, landing right next to us on the table and nearly letting us touch them. Like at the bakery, they were after food so once they realised we didn't have any they lost interest a bit although they did come back from time to time to make sure. Some of the people from the boat were also present and we said hello.
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| The path to the Seven Stones Inn. | The tree made the view even more spectacular. | The pub had a nice seating area outside. | Looking around inside as Renée orders a round. | ||
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| Cheers! Baileys and a Disarrono and Coke with a spectacular view across to St. Mary's and Tresco. | Like at the bakery, the Sparrows are very tame and explored very close to us to see if we had any food. | ||||
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| Another Sparrow closeup. | Sparrow art? | A couple of panoramas of the view. St. Mary's and Tresco in the background. | St. Mary's. To the far right St. Agnes is visible on the horizon. |
At 3PM it suddenly clouded over. A band of cloud was moving in, a weather front that heralded poorer weather that was forecast for the evening. It had been very nice in the sun while it lasted atleast. As we cooled down we decided to wander up to Middle Town to see what was there.
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| Clouding over. | Renée posing by a cool looking bush in Middle Town. | Chickens and goats in a Middle Town garden. | ||
At 3:15PM in Middle Town I wanted to go up the hill and round a hill top circuit but Renée didn't. So she headed back down the path to the quay to sit at the tables and chairs there, while I carried on Southeastwards up the path to a camp site and the island hall. Then I went round and along the top of the ridge above Middle Town. Up here were brambles, heathers and bracken. I followed the path past Tinkler's Hill. At this point the view towards the islands of Tean and St. Helen's was spectacular, as was the view across a myriad of rocks exposed by low tide, to Tresco in the distance. I soon descended to Karma and reached Renée at 3:40PM. I took Renée 5 minutes up the hill to show her the view which she appreciated. Then we returned to the quay at 3:50PM.
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| Walking up the main road from Middle Town. | A nice view over my shoulder of the beach and of Tresco in the distance. | A small cannon and a plaque near the top overlooking St. Mary. | St. Martin's Island Hall. | Walking West along a track along the ridge top from the Island Hall. |
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| Looking back Eastwards along the East Coast past Bread and Cheese Cove to the Daymark. | The path enters a small pine forest above Lower Town. | Spectacular views out to the West and North including Tean, St. Helen's, Round Island and White Island. | A closer look at Round Island and its lighthouse. | ||
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| Views of the islands between St. Martin's and Tresco. | Meeting Renée back at the seating area by Karma. | Showing Renée the view just up the hill from the seating area. | |
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| More scenic views down a slope as Renée looks on from the path above. | Checking out one of the succulent plants on the way back to the quay. | |
The tide was much lower now as we approached low tide. Renée sat on the ramp while I wandered to the water's edge and back. We chatted to some bird watchers and waited while more and more people gathered for the return boat. The boat to Tresco arrived at 4:10PM. As that boat departed 5 minutes later the Surprise boat arrived at 4:15PM.
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| Lower Town Quay. | One of the Tresco boats arriving. | The Surprise boat arriving to take us back to Hugh Town. | One more view Southwards as the Tresco boat departs. | Walking down the quay as the boat moves in to dock. | ||
We all filled the boat and Renée and I took the same seats as on the outbound trip. We departed at 4:29PM and had a nice cruise back to St. Mary's. Now not directly into sun, we had a great view of the West Coast of St. Mary's and of Town Beach as we approached. On the way we chatted to others on the boat. We were back at 4:54PM. I noted how much lower we were at low tide compared to high tide when we had set off in the morning. The Quay now seemed huge.
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| Departing Lower Town Quay and St. Martin's. | More Shags / Cormorants on rocks. | Guther's Island had some curiously stacked rocks. | The transmitter on St. Mary's. | Heading towards St. Mary's. | |
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| Renée enjoying the ride back. | Approaching St. Mary's Pool and Hugh Town. | Taylor's Island with its conical rock stack. | Entering the harbour. | Mooring up at the Quay. |
Once off the boat we walked back to the hotel, again stopping at a shop or two on the way. We also took a closer look at the Mermaid Inn and found a nice restaurant behind the bar. So we were both up for eating here When it opened at 6PM. At one shop Renée bought a couple of gifts.
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| Flowers in Hugh Town. | ||
We got back to the hotel at 5:15PM. We had a little rest during which we looked at the weather and the maps. We had decided that tomorrow was looking fairly cloudy and was good for exploring parts of St. Mary's, probably Peninnis Point, Old Town and across to Juliet's Garden Restaurant and Bar by Porthloo Beach for tea. Thursday looked sunny and good for a trip to Tresco.
We set off at 6PM for the Mermaid Inn. It was now drizzling. We were glad the rain had held off until the evening. We were the only ones in the restaurant at first. I ordered the Roast Mediterranean vegetable burger. Renée ordered the beef lasagne. They were delicious! After a while a Yorkshireman arrived and we got chatting to him. We ordered sticky toffee pudding and chocolate ice cream for desert. It was a delicious meal and very good value.>/p>
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| Our table at The Mermaid Inn was right by the window. | Table view of Town Beach and The Quay. | Dinner time! | We couldn't resist some dessert too. | ||
We left at 7:15PM and rushed through the rain, which was getting a bit heavier, and returned to the hotel to relax and retire for the night. The alarm was set a little later tomorrow for 8AM as we didn't have a boat to catch.
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